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savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Jake Epping is a high school teacher in Maine who learns he can go back in time and decides to attempt to stop the assassination of JFK.
I started this book many years ago (around when it came out) and never got back to it, so it was the latest in my “Project DNF” attempt to finish every book I’ve ever DNFed. I’ll start with the positives: it was entertaining and I am glad I finally got back to it. That said, I also found it WAY too long—over 800 pages/30 hours on audio for absolutely no reason.
My biggest problem, however, was that I really disliked the ending, and it made the length feel even more oppressive (who wants to read for that long and not even have a good payoff?) Overall, it felt like a very self-indulgent book…and while an author has every right to publish something self-indulgent, I strongly feel like edits could have been made so this book was *also* as good as the super intriguing premise promised it could be.
If you like historical fiction with a side of time travel/alternate history, you might like this one, but be prepared for a long and winding road.
CW: Murder/blood/violence/injury/death; suicide
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
psychnp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
But I kept going because hos books so often start slow building a base for the action, this was the first of his books I finished still thinking it was boring.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
savage_book_review's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
For me, it's not so much about the overarching plot of trying to save JFK that makes this stand out. Instead, it's the attention to detail which vividly brings this man's journey to life, both in terms of the factual elements - tracing Lee Harvey Oswald's life in the lead up to the fateful day is fascinating in and if itself - but also the seamless weaving in of the fictional characters and their goings-on to 'harmonise' the past. It's so very easy to fall down your own rabbit hole and come to believe in these characters; it really wouldn't take much to convince me that George Amberson/Jake Epping did actually write his story, and Stephen King is just 'the face'.
The concept of time travel might be sci-fi, but the writing makes it effortless to just 'go with it'. There's no real explanation as to where this hole in the world came from or why it exists, but there wasn't a single point where I didn't accept the position as plausible. The plot device just works. The exploration of the butterfly effect and the repercussions of George/Jake's actions do drag you into a type of dystopia, and I love how enough detail is given to allow you to understand exactly what has happened, while leaving enough to the imagination to have you thinking of the consequences for a long time after you put the book down. In turn, it inevitably leads to you questioning what you would do if you had the same or a similar opportunity.
There are some very dark moments throughout, with depictions of murder and domestic violence being important to the story. In some cases it's quite graphic, but it's not gratuitous and these moments are truly gripping to read. They're also important to our main character's development as he learns about the world he's now inhabiting and how the rabbit hole works.
Even in the quieter moments though, he writing remains engaging. I wouldn't say it's a fast paced book, and certainly there are plenty of more 'domestic' interludes that by all accounts should drag, but every moment is beautifully and thoughfully written and really digs into your psyche. I adore the romantic element - definitely not something I was expecting in a Stephen King book! - and to be honest I almost stopped caring about the world in jeopardy! And when the main character finds his 'people', the book develops a sweet small town cozy feel, albeit with shadows looming...
I'll admit to wanting a different ending, but the one we got is absolutely fitting, if heart-wrenching .
I'd thoroughly recommend this to anyone.
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
edenconroy's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide
booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book has an amazing, well-thought out, invigorating plot, for the most part. It's so interesting, and with the exception of the slower middle half of the book, it was a real page-turner. That middle part was kind of rough though. I'm not kidding when I say this took me a few years to get through. I wanted to persevere through this book because I liked the story, but the middle part just dragged on and on, and I put it down and then picked up several times the past few years. Once I got passed the middle part, however, I was back glued to the book.
I loved that this revolved around the trope of a historian-type figuring uncovering the truth about something that happened in the past, and I liked that it actually used time travel too. Stephen King, as he always does, successfully worked horror into the story as well, and I thought it was very well done in an understated kind of way. I didn't love the ending, but it was okay, and I was just happy to find out how it ended.
This book's romance was lacking, in my opinion. The book used the 'not like other girls' and 'man teaches woman what good sex is', and I really dislike those tropes. I feel like the romance could have written so much better than it was, but it wasn't the main plot that drew me in anyways.
Overall, I enjoyed it, felt 'meh' towards some aspects of the story, and will keep the book around in my personal library. Will I read it again? Not sure, but maybe someday.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Ableism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
1721egp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This is NOT a horror or thriller. It’s truly historical fiction meets science fiction.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Stalking
nenah_elizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and War
amcghig's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Abandonment
richardw2024's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I edited my rating to 5* a few months after finishing because I heard someone talk about it and remembered how great this book was, so I feel that is worthy of a 5* rating. Few books can evoke that kind of reaction from me.
Also check the content warnings - there are a few.
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thegillbird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Stephen King does not know how to write female characters in the slightest and this book is a shining example of that. There is exactly 1 female character in this book and she's fairly important to the plot yet her appearance (ie: body, how she's dressed) seems to be the main thing King feels the need to share about her. When her body isn't being discussed, the reader gets bombarded with tales of her traumatic previous sexual experiences/relationships and how only the main character can show her proper love *eye roll*
This book was a long, arduous, often boring slog with some interesting time travel elements.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Gun violence